The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Stock Position Trimmed by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,165 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock after selling 2,795 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Walt Disney were worth $9,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Walt Disney by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 77,596,191 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $7,463,978,000 after acquiring an additional 490,681 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Walt Disney by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 37,672,320 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,609,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,082 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Walt Disney by 8.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 34,416,668 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $3,310,539,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765,389 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Walt Disney by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 19,197,463 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock worth $2,137,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636,742 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Walt Disney by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 13,850,678 shares of the entertainment giant’s stock valued at $1,332,297,000 after buying an additional 454,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Walt Disney from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Walt Disney from $108.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Macquarie reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Walt Disney in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Walt Disney from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Walt Disney in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $125.85.

Walt Disney Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE DIS opened at $110.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.42. The Walt Disney Company has a one year low of $83.91 and a one year high of $123.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $111.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.19.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The entertainment giant reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Walt Disney had a net margin of 6.07% and a return on equity of 9.95%. As a group, analysts predict that The Walt Disney Company will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walt Disney Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 16th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 16th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Walt Disney’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.45. Walt Disney’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walt Disney

In other Walt Disney news, EVP Brent Woodford sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.74, for a total transaction of $917,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 44,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,054,870.70. The trade was a 15.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert A. Iger sold 372,412 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.57, for a total value of $42,667,242.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,980,695.19. This represents a 62.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 385,412 shares of company stock worth $44,153,263 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Walt Disney Company Profile

The Walt Disney Company operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Entertainment, Sports, and Experiences. The company produces and distributes film and television video streaming content under the ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brand television channels, as well as ABC television stations and A+E television networks; and produces original content under the ABC Signature, Disney Branded Television, FX Productions, Lucasfilm, Marvel, National Geographic Studios, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, 20th Television, and Walt Disney Pictures banners.